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Friday, July 30, 2010

Salty Goodness

Action movies should always be over the top, unrealistic, involve surprise twists and from now on should always feature Angelina Jolie. I had high expectations of Salt, mainly due to my high expectations of Jolie as an actress capable of picking good scripts and being able to emerge herself in any role. She has a versatility as an actress I'm not sure we've seen before. This movie is no exception, and her capability once again shines through.

I've seen it argued this was not a realistic film. No, it probably wasn't (although I know nothing of spies and the CIA to back up my opinion). I also wouldn't peg Die Hard or The Bourne movies as particularly "realistic". Somehow I get the feeling as an action movie starring a female lead the questionable sense of reality is tied up in our struggle with the image of a female being an action hero. She was everything an action hero should be, smart, quick, and ruthless, she just didn't happen to have a twig and berries between her legs.

The original star was to be Tom Cruise who backed out, and I for one and am thrilled with his decision. I believe Jolie brought an added soul and gutsiness he would not have provided. Tom Cruise is a brilliant actor, but he's a different kind of actor as well. In an interview it was said she turned down the role of Bond girl because she wanted to play Bond herself. She was fearless as Evelyn Salt and her androgynous ability to play the dual masculine and feminine parts of the character was alluring.

The movie had tons of moments where I uttered "what in the what???!" outloud in the theater. Any movie that shocks the crap out of me is automatically worth 4 stars. The fact this was cast so beautifully with Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Liev Schreiber bumps it up to 5.

It's an action movie pure and simple. It has car chases, hand to hand combat, surprise twists and a whole lot of sexiness. John McLane and Jason Bourne would give this two thumbs up and so do I.

6 comments:

I've been waiting for your review of Salt, Jessa! I'm glad to hear it was good. I also think that Jolie is a very good/versatile actor; I've like most movies that I've seen with her in them. I think you've convinced me that I need to figure out how to get out for an evening to go see it.

I enjoyed this movie as well! Good review! I am also glad that Tom Cruise backed out. I think this script had Jolie's name written all over it. Now that I have seen the movie I cant imagine anyone playing the role.